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 SYDNEY, Australia - Australia's new leader said Friday that he would pull his country's combat troops out of Iraq by mid-2008 — making good on an election promise that is likely to disappoint the U.S. government.

Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd swept to power at elections last Saturday that ended more than 11 years of conservative rule under John Howard, who had strong personal ties with President Bush and was one of America's few staunch allies in Iraq.

"The combat force in Iraq we would have home by around about the middle of next year," Prime Minister-elect Rudd told a radio station in the southern city of Melbourne.

Rudd went to the polls with a policy of withdrawing Australia's 550 combat forces in Iraq, while leaving several hundred other troops there in supporting roles such as guarding diplomats. Australia also has about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, a deployment Rudd supports and has no plans to reduce.

Bush was the first foreign leader to phone Rudd to congratulate him on his election victory, and the Australian leader said he would visit Washington early next year, with Iraq certain to be at the top of the agenda.

Rudd said Friday that his government had not begun discussions with U.S. officials about the withdrawal plan, and that a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Robert McCallum would be arranged soon.

Earlier this week, McCallum said U.S. officials looked forward to talking the plan over, and noted that it did not mean all Australian troops would be leaving Iraq.

"It's a situation ... where Australia is determining how it's going to reposition its forces, how it's going to deploy its resources in a new and different way, and we are looking forward to working with Mr. Rudd in achieving it," McCallum told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

As Prime Minister, Howard sent 2,000 troops to support the U.S. and British forces that invaded Iraq in 2003, and about 1,600 remain in and around the country. He had refused to set any timetable for pulling out the troops, saying that terrorists worldwide would be emboldened if they left or if the U.S.-led forces are defeated.

Rudd says the Iraq deployment has made Australia more of a target for terrorism.

White House spokesman Alex Conant had no immediate comment on Rudd's Friday remarks, but referred an Associated Press reporter to comments this week by Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, President Bush's adviser on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At a press briefing Monday, Lute said he knows Australia and Poland, "two key and very strong allies," have announced decisions affecting their forces in Iraq. He noted that both countries "are already making sizable commitments" to the war effort in Afghanistan.

Earlier this week, Poland's new defense minister said the country would likely pull its troops out of Iraq as early as mid-2008.

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